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Information Sheet
What is involved?
The skin is prepared using an antiseptic agent.
The needle is then guided into the relevant body part using radiological equipment, such as an ultrasound or
Computed Tomography (CT) scanner. The guidance allows a high dose of cortisone to be accurately delivered
into the area of suspected/proven pain without the side effects of taking cortisone tablets. This gives you the
best chance of pain relief, as injections performed without guidance may not work due to incorrect placement
of cortisone.
The degree of discomfort during the procedure is generally mild as the needle used is fine and local anaesthetic
is mixed in with cortisone. If only one pass is planned (meaning that the needle will only penetrate the skin once)
then local anaesthetic is usually NOT injected into the skin. It is our experience that injecting local anaesthetic
into the skin in a single pass procedure is actually more painful, as local anaesthetic stings a little prior to taking
effect. Also, the needle used to inject the local anaesthetic results in similar discomfort as the needle delivering
the cortisone. Local anaesthetic is only injected into the skin if more than one pass is made through the skin. Of
course, if you wish for local anaesthetic to be injected despite our recommendation, we are happy to do this.
A greater degree of discomfort may occur if:
the underlying inflammation is severe
the area to be injected is severely painful
the needle tip requires to be repositioned several times in order to distribute the cortisone effectively
a previous bad experience has resulted in a fear of needles, or there is a general anxiety/phobia of needles
and other medical procedures.
In cases where a cyst, ganglion, bursa or joint is distended with fluid, the cortisone will be injected after an attempt
to aspirate (remove) the fluid in order to improve comfort.
For All Appointments ph: 03 9667 1667 ABN 68 134 592 911
Melbourne
Melbourne
Radiology
Radiology
Clinic Clinic tel 9667tel
1667
9667fax
1667
9667fax
1666
9667 1666
Ground Floor,
Ground3-6
Floor,
/1003-6
Victoria
/100 Victoria
Parade Parade info@melbourneradiology.com.au
info@melbourneradiology.com.au
East Melbourne
East Melbourne
VIC 3002VIC 3002 www.melbourneradiology.com.au
www.melbourneradiology.com.au
Remember that the side effects of cortisone that are commonly reported in the media, such as osteoporosis, weight
gain, acne and diabetes only occur when taking cortisone tablets for at least several weeks. These side effects do
not occur with the careful use of cortisone injections.
For All Appointments ph: 03 9667 1667 ABN 68 134 592 911
Melbourne
Melbourne
Radiology
Radiology
Clinic Clinic tel 9667tel
1667
9667fax
1667
9667fax
1666
9667 1666
Ground Floor,
Ground3-6
Floor,
/1003-6
Victoria
/100 Victoria
Parade Parade info@melbourneradiology.com.au
info@melbourneradiology.com.au
East Melbourne
East Melbourne
VIC 3002VIC 3002 www.melbourneradiology.com.au
www.melbourneradiology.com.au